“Heh. I could see why you’d say that. You haven’t exactly been on anyone’s guest list.”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Are you sure you’ll be alright? It’s just I have never seen healing work this way…”
“Yeah. Just as long as my blood levels don’t go too low. It works differently than you think.”
“Does your body have a defensive state of repair?”
My eyes darted away from him solemnly. “Something like that...”
He paused, noticing the topic was making me uncomfortable. “I do apologize for being nosy. We may change the topic if you like.”
“It’s fine. It’s just been a very long and aggravating day.”
“That I understand. I’d just been in the ring with my previous cell mate. Unfortunately he didn’t make it…”
“The ring?”
“Yes. The Blood Games.”
My eyes grew. “Are you saying we are contestants for the Blood Games?!”
“Yes. We play in teams. Only this location does that. The others have one vs one matches.”
“So I’m your new team mate?”
He smiled and nodded.
“Hot shit. I can’t believe this…” I snorted. “This is better than torture, trust me.”
“Not by much…”
“If we want any chance of surviving, we need to stick together.”
“Survive? There's no survival in this place. We're all going to die eventually.”
My face twisted. “Don't say that,” I muttered. “We have to keep fighting.”
He rolled his eyes. “Fighting? Against what? The dragons? The guards? The other prisoners? No matter how you see it, we're outnumbered and outgunned. Jezz, what you’re suggesting is impossible…”
“You need to be thinking of a way of getting out of here!”
“But how? There is no way out. This place is heavily guarded. Not to mention these chains they have us in. There is no way of working around them.”
“That doesn’t mean we should give up!”
“In a caged match with an arena of dragons…”
“We don’t make our escape from there, we make it from out here.”
His face saddened even more. “No offense, Jezz, but I have made my peace.” His comment made my chest tighten up. “I understand that I will die here, and there is no changing that.” He smiled. “I had a good life. I had amazing brothers who cared for me, I served my country in the Hox Branch, I had a doting mother and a supportive community, and most of all, I had the perfect woman by my side.”
“Gavori, right? That royal pain in my ass?!” I grabbed him by his collar, reeling him into my stern and serious face while my juices stamped his bare feet. “Did you know that she sent me to find you? Dead or alive?!” I whispered. “I know what happened, Red. You were captured by dragons! And so was your girlfriend in her very own home! They tricked her into thinking they were you! Did you know that she was captured, too, Red? Did you?!” He looked at me terrified. “I bet you didn’t know that! Because if you did you wouldn’t have been so quick to give up! But Silas and I rescued her in Lucyna’s lair. She is still alive! So how about you grow a pair and focus on getting out of here for her!”
“Gavori…” he said in a jagged voice, his eyes getting glassy.
“Listen, I am a big believer of fate. Fate brought Silas to me, freeing me from the orcs when I was captured. Fate then brought Silas to that dragon dungeon, helping us free all of those prisoners. And again fate churned the butter, bringing us together here. Right here, right now. Let’s not pass this opportunity. Take this as a sign for action! Gavori gave Silas a picture to identify you, and that was how I recognized you. Together we can break out of here. We just need to believe and at the very least, try, damn it! If not for yourself, then for Gavori. So, what do you say?”
Red looked into my eyes, his face mixed with fear and hope. “Jezz, I didn’t know…” His voice trailed off as he tried to compose himself. “I didn’t know that Gavori was captured too. If I’d known, I would have done everything to get her back and keep her safe.”
“And dragons are selfish beings! You know that more than anyone! You know they’ll do everything and ANYTHING to get her back! They know where to find her, Red. She might have been able to escape, but they’ll hunt her down until she’s dead!”
I saw the conflict in his mind as he struggled to come to terms with what I had just told him. He was a fighter, a man who had seen his fair share of battles when it came to defending Mavriel from Dragon scum. But this was different. This was a battle for the woman he loved.
After a few moments of silence, he spoke. “You're right. I can't give up on my Gavori. I have to fight for her! She is counting on me.” He nodded. “Let's do this.”
I grinned. “That's the spirit!”
“By the way, who is Silas?”
“The savior of Thalian. He’s going to stop our world from destruction…”
“Destruction? Are you referring to the dragon kingdom?”
“Worse,” I said, releasing him. My body had regenerated, and I was all stitched up now. Although starving, I had enough strength to stay on my feet without tipping over or feeling like passing out.
“What do you mean by worse?”
